1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to precast composite floor systems.
2. Related Technology
Precast concrete construction is often used for commercial and industrial buildings, as well as some larger residential buildings such as apartment complexes. Precast construction has several advantages, such as more rapid erection of a building, good quality control, and allowing a majority of the building structural members to be precast. Conventional precast structures, however, suffer from several disadvantages, such as being heavy and requiring complex connections between precast members and to the rest of the building structure.
Currently, precast single tee and double tee panels are used for constructing floors. The precast single and double tees are typically eight feet wide and often between 25 and 40 feet long or longer. The single tee sections typically have a deck surface about 1.5 to 2 inches thick and a beam portion extending down from the deck surface along the longitudinal center of the deck. The beam is usually about 8 inches thick and about 24 inches tall.
Double tee panels usually have a deck surface which is about 2 inches thick and have two beams extending down from the deck. The beams are placed about four feet apart running down the length of the panel, and are about 6 inches thick and 24 inches tall. Often, after the single and double tee panels are installed, about 2 or 3 inches of concrete is placed on top of the panels.
Single and double tee panels can be heavy. Heavy floor panels can require heavier columns and beams (i.e., columns and beams with increased strength and structural integral) to support the floor panels and so on, increasing the weight of nearly every structural part of the building structure. Heavier structural elements often use more materials and are thus more expensive, require increased lateral and vertical support, and may limit the height of the building for a particular soil load bearing capacity.